"It is believed that Carrie Boustead was originally known as Clara Berry and was raised in Liverpool during the 1870s.

"Carrie first comes to prominence in 1896 when she played in a series of football matches north and south of the border."

Boustead was in goals for a London team that played at Barrowfield Park in Glasgow in May 1896, and also in a game held in Stirling.

She was listed as being goalkeeper for Mrs Graham's XI in a match played at Wishaw in Lanarkshire.

Boustead is among women footballers of the 1800s portrayed in paintings by Scots artist Stuart Gibbs.

Mr McBrearty said: "At a time when there was widespread cynicism towards women playing football, Boustead was a successful proponent of the women's game and she, along with her team mates of the period, should be remembered for their achievements north and south of the border as pioneers."

'Greatest defenders'

While much of Boustead's life is a mystery, the career of Andrew Watson, Scotland's first black international footballer, is well documented.

Mr Brearty said: "Watson was one of the greatest defenders of his generation.

"He played in three of the greatest and most high profile teams of the 1880s - Queen's Park FC, Corinthians, and Scotland."

Watson, who was born in Georgetown, British Guiana, and whose father was a plantation manager and former slave owner from Orkney, played for Scotland at a time when they dominated international football.

His three caps for Scotland were a 6-1 and 5-1 win over England and a 5-1 win over Wales.

Mr Brearty said: "On his debut in 1881 he captained Scotland to a 6-1 win over England at the Oval in London - this remains England's heaviest defeat on home soil."

He added: "Watson only won three caps because he moved away from Scotland and down to London in 1882 and was beyond the gaze of the international selectors.

"While in London in 1882 he played for the London Swifts in an FA Cup match and became the first known black footballer to play in the FA Cup.

"He is the first black international footballer and international football captain."

Watson, sitting middle, as captain of Scotland prior to the 1881 international match with England

England's Corinthians included a few non-English players. Watson was the first of those footballers and he played in the team's 8-1 win over reigning FA Cup holders Blackburn Rovers in 1884.

But Watson's star qualities on the pitch did not protect him from racial abuse.

Mr McBrearty said: "The Scottish Athletic Journal provided an overview of his career in 1885.

"It stated: 'Although on more than one occasion subjected to vulgar insults by splenetic, ill-tempered players, he uniformly preserved that gentlemanly demeanour which has endeared him to opponents as well as his club companions'.

"This suggests that he experienced racism on the field, but that he was able to rise above insults and let his sporting ability shine through on the park."

But he added: "One of the best complements to Watson's ability can be found in his selection in an all-star Scotland team in 1926. JAH Catton, editor of the Athletic News, selected Watson at left back in his all-time Scotland team, 44 years after his last Scotland appearance."

Air ace

Eugene Bullard - America's first black combat pilot - must rate among one of the most unusual characters from Scotland's black history.

Georgia-born Bullard's ancestors included slaves from Martinique who were brought to America by their French owners as they fled the Haitian slave revolution.

His father spoke French and also talked fondly of France, instilling in Bullard a belief that it was the true land of opportunity, free of prejudice.

Spurred by an attempt to lynch his father and his own brushes with racial hatred, Bullard worked towards getting himself to Paris. This journey first took him to Scotland.

According to Craig Lloyd's book Eugene Bullard: Black Expatriate in Jazz-Age Paris, Bullard was barely in his teens when he stowed away on a German cargo ship at Norfolk, Virginia.

New history-makers

Scotland's history-makers today include Emeli Sande and Ikechi Anya

Multi award-winning singer Sande was born in Sunderland of a Zambian father and English mother before moving to Alford with her parents, aged four, and being brought up in Scotland

Glasgow-born Anya plays football for Watford and Scotland. His parents are Nigerian and Romanian academics

The captain of the Marta Russ first threatened to throw Bullard overboard, before giving him the chance of working on the ship on its passage to Aberdeen.

Bullard left his ship shortly after it reached Aberdeen. He spent a day in the Granite City before taking a train to Glasgow.

While he was relieved to find he was not the target of vicious racial abuse in Scotland, Lloyd said that Bullard did have one immediate problem.

Lloyd wrote: "At first he had difficulty with the Scottish dialect and accent: 'the language the natives spoke was sort of like English'."

Bullard spent five months in Glasgow and earned money acting as a lookout at illegal gambling dens.

He later headed for Liverpool and then finally France.

In World War I, he served with the French Foreign Legion and saw action at some of the bloodiest battles, including the Somme and Artois Ridge.

Eugene Bullard spent time in Aberdeen and Glasgow

Wounds he suffered at Verdun ruled him out from returning to the front line as a soldier, but he was offered a chance to become a pilot with the French Flying Corps.

In 1917, he qualified as a flyer. He earned one officially confirmed kill.

When the US entered the war, Bullard sought a transfer to its air force. His request was ignored.

Bullard remained in Paris after the war.

He became part-owner of a night club, got married and had three children.

During World War II, he fought with the French resistance until he was badly wounded and was smuggled into Spain.

Thirty-three years after his death in 1961 the US Air Force posthumously commissioned him as a lieutenant in honour of his war-time exploits.